The old Patti Page song How Much Is That Doggie in the Window?
takes on a different meaning in a country where dogs are sold not only to
guard a sweetheart, as the song goes, or as a friend. Only last week,
police intercepted a jeep full of dogs  mouths tied and bleeding to
prevent them from barking or howling in protest, feet bound to prevent them
running, and all l50 of them piled on top of each other  traveling in
broad daylight along a main Manila highway. "These are hard times, sir,"
the vehicle's owner explained, "and this is just a job, a source of
livelihood." He claims to have purchased the pooches for between $7 and $8
in nearby Batangas province, and was transporting them to a not-so-secret
slaughterhouse far to the north in Baguio, where dog meat is a local
delicacy. As the owner of the vehicle confirmed, "We've been doing this
since time immemorial."

Although the 150 dogs on the jeep were saved, its driver was released and
it remains unclear whether he faces any criminal charges. While eating dog
meat has been banned in the Philippines since 1998, the Animal Kingdom
Foundation alleges that as many as 200,000 dogs a year are slaughtered here
for their meat. Last year, during a visit to Baguio  known as center of
canine cuisine  President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo hosted a dinner for
the Baguio City officials where she made comments that the local media
deemed to have fallen well short of condemning the practice: "Dog meat
keeps you warm, does it not?" the President is reported to have said to
Baguio mayor Braulio Yaranon over dinner. In a transcript sent by Arroyo's
handlers in Manila's presidential palace, Arroyo claimed her knowledge of
the culinary use of dog meat was rudimentary.

Despite the 1998 law, if the claims of animal rights advocates are to be
believed, more dogs than ever are being eaten in the Philippines. Once
confined to the hills of the north, activists claim it is also now rampant
in the far south on Mindanao island.

Dodong Nalupa, from Sultan Kudarat province in Mindanao, is a dog-meat
devotee, and says he indulges his appetite for it every day. "I get so
energized when I eat it," Nalupa claims. "It is served in every carinderia
[eatery]." Although restaurants don't display it as openly
since the 1998 ban, it is common enough to be served in certain areas, and
is considered a common delicacy at birthdays and other fiestas. The town
maintains its supply of dog meat by collecting pets from a nearby Muslim
town, where keeping dogs as domestic pets is considered unclean.

Black dogs are deemed the tastiest, and are also said to counter the
effects of asthma and to stimulate the libido. Dogs are often cruelly
killed  feet bound, clubbed unconscious and then slaughtered with a
knife. Sometimes, their blood is drained to be drunk, ostensibly for
medicinal reasons. Dog skin and innards are made into an appetizer by
soaking them in vinegar, garlic and ginger. But dog meat is also roasted,
stewed in the sour juice of the sampaloc fruit, or served adobo style  that
is, with soy sauce and vinegar.

The 1998 ban signaled a distaste in the capital of Manila for the habit of
eating dogs, in line with international standards. But some Filipinos are
contemptuous of such concerns: "What's the big deal about eating dogs?"
asked Becky Judalena, who comes from a tribe in the northern province of
Ilocos that's known for eating dog. "This is a way of life. Why impose
Western culture on us natives? To each his own. And to hell with the
[French actress turned animal rights campaigner] Brigitte Bardots
of this world."